It’s smart and responsible to take advantage of available tax benefits when giving to a worthy charity like Zion. Following are a few ideas you may want to implement before the end of the year. Donating Appreciated Securities Stocks and other securities like mutual funds that have gained value since purchase can be tax-efficient charitable giving tools. Don’t sell the investment, pay tax on the gain, donate the proceeds and take your charitable deduction on the value of the proceeds.

First, choose a charity that you really care about. Of course, I recommend giving to Zion Lutheran Buffalo. But, if giving to an organization outside the Lutheran church, before making any donations, spend a few minutes looking up the nonprofit on watchdog sites such as Charity Navigator, or CharityWatch. These sites rate nonprofits and allow you to find out more about the organization and how donations are spent. Does your household prepare a monthly budget? If so you’re in an

We have received reports of more attempts to scam our members and attenders by someone pretending to be Pastor Bahe. The email message claims to be from Pastor Bahe and generally asks you to reply to the email because there is a request she wants you to handle confidentially or discretely. Unfortunately, because the emails are from someone impersonating Pastor Bahe, there is very little we can do as a staff to prevent this. However, there are a few things

Summer officially begins in June, but we all know that some people begin to check out of the routine of worship around the last week of May. Statistics show that churches see a 30% decrease in attendance over the summer months. Is there any way to change this? First … Thank you for your faithful giving and for sharing the mission of Zion with others. As you know, the work of ministry is never done. We are asking everyone at

Did you know that you don’t have to limit your electronic giving to just the General Fund or the Building Fund? In addition to the General and Building funds, Zion maintains a Special Projects account with over 50 specific line item ministries and programs. We recently updated online giving options. The link to the website is Zionbuffalo.infellowship.com/OnlineGiving. Here are just a few of the options you now have to give directly to a program or ministry: General Fund Building Fund